Fifteen thousand dollars in debt? Why, I’ve never heard of that happening before, and without families who will pay it off! Woe! Horrors!
Be happy you got a $20,000 inheritance and not a fucking funeral bill and creditors trying to collect on an estate which is composed of debt. Just sayin’.
For you ma’am, no charge. Compliments of the management. 
No, I get by. (Do you?) I get by because there’s a difference between routine drudgery and white-hot flesh-searing brain-eating Hate. The former, one humps on thru for the greater good of all concerned. The latter will seriously screw with your head if you tolerate it long enough.
I would think hardly anybody expects to enjoy their work 100% of the time. What they do expect is a job that does not pound them into psychic mush at the end of every day. Unless you are a. starving or b. getting paid criminally large sacks of cash, life is too short.
(Example: Could they ever pay you enough to listen to people self-justify for 40 hours a week?)
Oh gee. And here I was thinking people got paid to do “jobs” because it was worth something to somebody to have those “jobs” done.
See, this is where I wonder if it’s really about dry economic realities and not about the fulfillment of some universal karmic shit-distribution mechanism. A Great Mandala of Ass-Chewing, if you will. (There y’are, 5¢ more philosophy on the house. 
)
Kudos gratefully accepted. As to the interface, it’s cake if you’ve ever coded your own pages or anything, or participated in other web boards (there are others? Pshaw!). I also put in major lurk time here before registering.
What, you don’t like “ppl”? It’s such a nice snappy crackly abbreviation! Ppl ppl ppl! For me it’s the textual equivalent of popping bubble wrap.
Altho I understand if it’s irritating. (So’s popping bubble wrap if you’re not the one doing it.) “People” it is.
No you don’t, sven. I’ve been meaning to pop in and say, “Just don’t tell them anything more. Just don’t talk about it.” Don’t. Don’t. Learn from this. Don’t tell people. It’s none of their business.
Look—I won’t get into whether or not your choices have been the best ones. But one thing I do know, is that when you talk about some of your attitudes and choices, this gives people a chance to pick them apart, right or wrong, and that can definitely be no fun. So don’t do it.
I swear, even if you made the most perfect, most sound choice, sure as shootin’ you’d find someone on this board who would skewer you for it and tell you how you’d done it all wrong. So just be careful. With some issues it’s not so much of a big deal to spill your guts, but with this one—with money—I think that you’ve seen that it’s not turning out well. So, do whatever you think is the best thing for you to do, but just don’t tell them anything. Never again. Never again. Repeat after me: never again.
Hey sven? Lemme tell you about the time my dad got laid off-right after my parents bought a house! He was out of work for almost a year, he had a fucking mortgage, and a wife and two kids!
Why do you have to even save ALL of your “inheritance?” Can’t you take at least half and maybe buy some new clothes so you don’t wear the same thing all the time? Jesus Christ, woman, go to a thrift store or consignment shop-my sister used to work at Salvation Army and would find some killer bargains!
Or pick up a video camera and start a little mini-business, offering to videotape birthday parties or help kids with video projects. You’d be making movies, and getting experience.
Yeah, you have dreams. So do a lot of people. Sometimes, you have to put your dreams on hold and deal with the here and now. Yeah, it sucks-that’s life, kiddo.
You have money, you just refuse to spend it. What’s worse-“pissing away” your inheritance, or “pissing away” your health and welfare, over some pipe dream? Yes, I said “pipe dream.” For every Blair Witch Project there are about a thousand Manos: the Hands of Fate’s. I’m not trying to discourage you, but trying to get you to see reality. Yes, you have a dream of making a film-but right now, that’s not feasible. You seriously need to fix your priorities.
I know what it’s like to get piled on for the poor me routine-and you know what? They were right. I was wrong to keep ranting about how my life sucks when it’s my own damned fault. I’ve certainly made some fucked up choices, but I can’t blame anyone else but myself. And I learned a long time ago to set immediate goals small, and work from there.
But she IS starving. That’s the point! She’s starving and living beneath what she feels is a civil lifestyle, yet she doesn’t crack into her little Fort Knox to get a decent outfit to apply for jobs in. She’s living on the fringe and cannot – with all that education – bring herself to spend the dough. Talk about low self-esteem! This chick’s got it bad.
If I may hijack this thread for a brief second:
Guinistasia, I’ve really noticed in the past few months that you seem a lot more mature than how I perceived you a couple years ago when I joined this board. You seem to have a lot of stuff figured out. I really commend you for it! I don’t mean to sound condescending at all–please take this as a compliment.
Oh, well, thanks. :o
I know the point you’re trying to make, but hell if I don’t find Manos a lot more entertaining than Blair Witch. Make mine Manos!
Actually, Manos is a cult-classic now. Heh.
That being said, when you call someone’s dream a “pipe dream”, they’re not going to listen to anything you have to say. They just get defensive. Kind of like what’s being done now.
I personally think that the key is doing more than one thing. Most people that are published writers, for example, have done or do more than one thing. Robin Cook is still a doctor IIRC. John Grisham was a lawyer and I think he still is.
I’m sure even filmakers have done more than one thing and are doing many things now. There’s no reason why people can’t balance their dreams and their security, but that’s just me. shrugs
Sven, if you’re still reading all this, have you considered demo work? Or sales demonstrating? You generally work in supermarkets/stores on the weekends(but you can get some jobs on the weekdays) handing out samples/coupons, but the pay is higher than minimum wage and you can get a lot of free stuff, including free food. There’s has to be agencies like that in your area. Sure, it’s a ‘casual job’ and you’re an ‘indepedant contractor’, but you get your jobs over the phone, so you’re more independant than if you were directly working for someone.
What I do, is I keep the samples I want, and what I don’t want, I sell on Ebay. It’s great for extra money. It’s something to consider if you really need some extra cash.
With or without the bots?
I worked as a sales demo for fragrance one X-mas as a favour to a friend (long story) - anyhow, I got paid $19/hour, plus I received about $1,000 in free fragrance. LOTS of people I know were smelling good in the new year…
UnMSTied? DAMN, are you some kind of masochist? 
I don’t mean to belittle sven’s dreams, but right now, her immediate needs should take priority over them. If she has barely enough to eat, is wearing the same clothes every day, then saving money to make a film, or whatever, is absolutely ridiculous. Because if this keeps up, her health is gonna go straight down the toilet, and she’ll end up having to spend all of it on hospital bills.
And I still haven’t seen her answer as to why she can’t split that money up-take some of it and invest it, and use the rest to live on.
Because she wouldn’t have gotten a six-page thread out of the deal if she did that, silly!
I was going to respond to this thread, but I see the hamsters ate my original post. (I will mercifully omit my own personal financial horror story).
Long story short, I was going to show you [Sven] that at 4% interest (rate that I consolidated to), compared to a typically 3% rate of inflation, you are practically getting free money. I was even going to estimate your monthly payment, but again the hamsters… You could roll CDs or take an index fund matching the S&P 500, long term, you will come out ahead.
Basically, you were loaned the money for free. Why do you think so many people were going back to school when the economy first tanked?
Anyway, my only advice to you, which has been mentioned at least once already, and, imo, the only really useful thing to both hear and say is:
PRIORITIZE
(I am efficient.)
I’m more or less in agreement here. If even sven wants to dress in rags and rely on ramen noodles for sustenance when she’s got $20,000 sitting in the bank, well, that’s her business. And she should keep it her business by keeping quiet about it around uninvolved people rather than inviting others into her personal business by discussing it in public.
Beware the Doug makes a lot of sense. And just as important as stopping explaining to us is to stop feeding yourself negative feedback. It is not unusual to live on “the narrow ridege” when you are first out of school.
Sven isn’t starving and won’t starve as long as she has access to $20,000. Food is very high on the hierarchy of needs. People have lived on human flesh rather than starve.
A good job and a more stable frame of mind will give her the perspective she needs.
Well, because there hasn’t been enough of it in this thread, I’m going to offer my own advice. I’ll put it in nice, bulleted form though.
even_Sven:
Accept that you aren’t going to make a living as a filmmaker. Very few people do. Use that as your working assumption, to help clarify your choices.
You are a very lucky person. Not only did you get to study the field you wanted, you got to travel after you got out of school, and then when times got tough you were given a GIFT of $20,000. You’ve been far luckier than most. It’s time you recognized it, because self-pity is a destructive emotion, and it’s blinding you and crippling you.
You need to find a career. Not just a ‘job’ to tide you over until the big film break. Not gonna happen. You need to figure out, RIGHT NOW, what ELSE you might like to do with your life other than making films. Then take steps to succeed.
Okay, you’ve discovered that taking a degree in what you love doesn’t mean shit. Time to get a REAL education. You need to learn a skill that people actually want to pay for.
You have $20,000. That’s ‘seed money’. You’re very lucky. Did I mention that? My advice to you is to go back to school - this time learning something practical. It doesn’t have to be university. Go to technical school. Learn a trade. Something. Technical writing might be a field you want to look into, or graphic design. FLASH programming shares a lot in common with traditional filmmaking - If you got a 2 year diploma in programming/web development, specializing in Flash animations and other high-end graphic design, then your degree in film might actually help your career.
Or do something else entirely. But understand - you are not waiting for your miracle to come along. You’re not taking temporary jobs until your big break happens, because guess what? It isn’t going to happen. So my advice is that while you have resources, you get yourself retrained.
You are putting a $20,000 price tag on your ‘dream movie’ because that’s a good way to put it off. Your problem is that you’re living in the future, and avoiding the present. When you do that, the future never comes.
Now, remember how I said you need to accept you’ll never make it in film? Maybe you will. But you need to operate AS IF YOU WON’T. It’s a longshot. People who bet their lives on longshots don’t generally fare too well.
You might take a lesson from Evan Coyne Maloney. Now, you’re going to HATE his politics, but pay attention to what he’s done. A couple of years ago he took his camcorder to protest rallies and did ‘on the street’ interviews with people, and published them on his web site. He got some notice. Then he decided to stalk Michael Moore and try to get an interview. He did, and published that. That got him noticed some more - enough to get a little venture capital for a small film. He has now incorporated a production company with two partners, and they’ve just released their first full-length film. He didn’t need no stinkin’ $20,000, either. Just a cheap camcorder, some talent, and a hell of a lot of hard work.
The future is NOW. You’re done waiting for your ship to come in or your phone to ring. The only person who’s going to save you is YOU. Get off your ass and go do it.
Oh, and go get some damned meds for your bipolar disorder. We’re not living in the freaking stone age. Help is available. Use it. It’s stupid not to.
Good advice Sam…
because up the road from Sven is a certain manufacturer of a computer component that currently has internal postings (that will likely be filled externally) for openings their corporate communications department. However, web stuff like Flash, the ability to do multimedia presentations and such is required. There probably would be little to no actual filmmaking - although I’ve seen corporate videos come from somewhere - and who knows what a person could make out of the job.
Its the sort of soul crushing mindless environment that you sell out for - but it would pay well and keep Sven in the Santa Cruz area. And its the type of job that will give you vacations and weekends to do what you love (much of the Cali staff surfs before showing up for work, at least when the weather is warm).
My first “real” job out of college with a film degree was in Marketing Communications. I got to participate in a few shoots - photo and otherwise. Most of what I did was direct mail - which lead into database - which lead into IT - which is where I ended up. But it was a winding path that included time as a temp, an envelope stuffer, doing data entry, telemarketing, being a secretary, and selling plasma. Brainiac4 got out with his liberal arts degree, lived in an absolutely scary apartment (past cockroach scary, into crackhouse scary), bounced from job to job, declared bankruptcy due to student loan debt (paid it off through the bankruptcy), worked in a coffee shop and held a variety of dead end jobs for five years before getting his first “work 60 hours a week and get paid crap - but a living wage crap” job.
(Sven, if you have a web design background included in your film degree, and this sounds interesting, my email address is in my profile).
I want to repeat to sven again: “Never again—never again” (don’t tell us what you’re doing with your money! It’s none of our business!).
However, for what it’s worth, I want to comment on this:
I hope you will consider this. All I know is that my world completely opened up when I discovered what I could do to promote my creative work on the web. Completely. Amazing. It’s exceeded my wildest expectations. I could go on, but suffice it to say that it brought out talents and abilities that I’d never taken that seriously (along with the ones I’d known I’d had all my life). I don’t make a full time living off of my creative works on the web, but I’d say it was a decent part-time income. And it’s getting better all the time. It is gratifying on a creative level, and it’s gratifying because it helps put money in my pocket.
I could have never anticipated that this was how it was going to turn out for me when I went to college. No idea. All I know is that thanks to the web, I am getting to put my college education to use, in a really satisfying way.
You just have no idea how many awesome opportunities there are for you on the web. Especially for filmmakers. Oh my gosh! Thanks to broadband, more and more people are downloading and enjoying independent, freebie films made by people like you. Your time is now. Don’t give up on your dreams. I didn’t. I just took them to the web.
P.S. I don’t know how much hosting space and bandwidth a filmmaker might need to start out on, but I’m guessing you could get a ton of space and an ample amount of bandwidth for about $20 a month or less, no setup fees. When traffic picks up, you can upgrade the hosting plan.